Tiny sewing

Along with the Pokemon dress (which is still in the same state we last left it) I got hired to make a wardrobe for a collector's Lady Lovely Locks dolls.  It was a fun assignment to take as they were some of my favorite dolls as a child and the collector gifted me one as part of the payment.  I'm absurdly happy to have my own Maiden FairHair again after many years of being too "old" for those dolls.  Growing up is SO overrated.

First order of business was to make up a sloper for her and my standard method of pinfitting one on doesn't work as well when the pins are as long as the doll's arm.  So it took some trial and error.  I did discover that tracing paper makes excellent doll pattern material.  And that it's far easier to plop the pattern down on the fabric and trace around it with a mark-b-gone pen than try to pin and cut.  Some things are so different at this tiny scale.

The white dress that I deliberately left wadded in such a way that keeps anyone from really scrutinizing it was my first trial and error.  But it showed me I was on the right track in some areas.  The green dress was another trial, no error (except for the absurdly voluminous skirt) and I'll be keeping that one for my own girl's wardrobe.  The pink dress is one for the customer.  I plan on eightiesfying it a bit with a tiny tulle cape and perhaps by gathering up the overskirt tulle with some tiny flowers but I'll admit I rather prefer it as it is.  

And here's today's work.  The customer asked for three casual outfits and these are two of the dresses.  I'll make up little aprons tomorrow so the dolls can be properly dressed for princessy walks in the garden and whatever else little princesses do in their kingdom.  The coloring books and cartoons I remember show them being very friendly with woods animals and perhaps even cooking a bit.  

Before getting rescued from the problem of the week by a prince who spent most of his time as a dog.  

There's probably something deeply freudian there but I'd rather leave my childhood memories unblemished by underlying implications.  

Returning to this project, it's been interesting and challenging to work with fabric at this scale and to try and quickly make up various outfits using the sloper I created.  It's been a good exercise for drafting, matching fabric to pattern, and thinking about how different elements will work together.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll remember to photo document a bit of the process if it might help others who'd like to make their own doll wardrobes.  It is fun!

From bored to overwhelmed

So in the last week I've gone from sad and bored and unemployed to overwhelmingly deluged with creative projects.  It started with rebooting my poor, neglected Etsy store (Cherry Lime) and deciding to try out the Alchemy section of the site, just for kicks.  It's a neat feature where potential clients put forth ideas of what they want and artisans bid to make them.  Fun idea.  Of course most shoppers think you can make miracles on walmart prices but those ideas are easily overlooked.  There are, however, the occasional gems.

My first accepted bid was to make a pattern for a loose, single shoulder summer dress for another seamstress.  Fun!

I sketched up some options to see what, exactly she wanted and, in the process, realized I really need to work on my sketching skills.  Oh, well, it at least conveyed the IDEA of what I was going for.

My client went with the wider strap, elastic waist, and full skirt.  We were off!

I decided to try draping.  After all, the Project Runway designers seem to prefer that so it can't be too hard, right?  Apparently my mind doesn't work that way.  After fiddling for too long with it, I gave up and went back to the way I know works - flat pattern drafting from measurements.  I determined how much room I wanted in the bodice, how wide the hem should be, and drew up a tall trapazoid from that. I added a single arm cyc using a mix of a curve of my own body (client and I had very similar measurements) and my already drafted (and 100% mine) jacket pattern.  Extend the shoulder seam the correct amount, add a gentle curve to connect inner shoulder to left side seam, check it all by pinning it up on Elanor (my dress form) and the basic pattern was done! All that was left was the addition of seam and hem allowances, the sewing line for the waist elastic, and basic written instructions.  The pattern was finished in time and hopefully soon I'll get to see how the client interprets it in fabric form.  Can't wait!

I wanted to test it out myself but the style is horrible on me and, frankly, the client wasn't paying nearly enough to do that much work.  Fortunately she knew that and chose to accept the risk.  And I have a new pattern of my very own!

And that was just the start ...

I'm currently sourcing fabric for a second client to make a custom robe and, at the same time, working with a third client to make ten adorable little outfits for her Lady Lovely Locks dolls.  I'm especially excited about that one as those were some of my favorite dolls as a child and I adore making small, beautiful dresses.  That will probably be my largest challenge these coming weeks because small clothes are hard (teensy seams!!) but so, so fun.  The client is giving me a lot of freedom in the design department so it's almost like doing this for my own enjoyment only I get paid.  And I don't get to keep the results - but that's ok.  My favorite part is creating, the finished product is just a nice byproduct.  I'd actually rather have the check.  So what a perfect arrangement!

And, of course, loving the actual INCOME after a summer of fruitless job searching.  This so beats sitting behind a desk!

Halloween Coasters!

Today I spent the morning embroidering these fun little coasters for my etsy shop.



They're orange thread on a dark gray felt and were a lot of fun to make, though now I wish I had a thimble. My needle-pushing finger is sore! Still, I enjoy the tactileness of hand embroidery and really enjoyed whipping these up. Since it's a little late to sell many more of these this October, I'll probably pack away the patterns and start working on some winter themes. Maybe snowflakes, an advent series, and some Christmas ones? Hm.

I nearly finished another robe but it's waiting until I get the last few threads clipped for it's photo shoot. Two other robes are just a few little details away from being ready as well so expect my inventory to increase this weekend!

Until then, more pictures of my halloween coasters -





And yes, I plan on taking better pictures tomorrow, after a trip to the store for AA batteries. This camera is such a glutton!

And, just in case: Click here to buy!